Khaled Ghannam
Assistant Professor,
Civil and Environmental Engineering
Office
- 132F Nightingale Hall
Research Focus
Boundary-layer meteorology, land-atmosphere interactions, air quality modeling, hydroclimatology
Education
- PhD, Environmental Sciences, Duke University, 2017
- MS, Civil and Environmental Engineering, American University of Beirut, 2013
Honors & Awards
Teaching Interests
- Fluid Mechanics and Hydraulics
- Boundary-Layer Meteorology
- Turbulent Flows
Leadership Positions
- Associate Editor, ARC Geophysical Research
- Session Convener, Boundary-Layer Processes and Turbulence, American Geophysical Union
Professional Affiliations
- American Meteorological Society
- American Physical Society
- American Geophysical Union
- European Geophysics Union
Research Overview
Boundary-layer meteorology, land-atmosphere interactions, air quality modeling, hydroclimatology
Research activities in our group focus on the study of turbulent transport phenomena and geophysical fluid dynamics in the atmospheric boundary layer. We integrate high-resolution numerical simulations, in-situ observational techniques, and theoretical developments to characterize the complex exchange of mass, energy, and momentum across diverse landscapes. By bridging fundamental environmental physics with multiscale modeling, we develop predictive frameworks that resolve the interactions occurring at the interface of the Earth and its atmosphere.
Our research advances the current understanding of ecosystem functioning, urban microclimates, and the environmental factors driving extreme events such as wildfires. This work directly informs the development of next-generation Earth System Models and supports the implementation of data-driven policies to build and maintain more resilient cities and ecosystems.
Selected Publications
- Yin, Z., Findell, K., Dirmeyer, P., Ghannam, K., Shevliakova, E., Malyshev, S., Tan, Z. (2022) “Daytimeonly-
mean data can enhance understanding of land-atmosphere coupling”. Hydrology and Earth
System Sciences. https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2022-769, 2022 - Chowdhuri, S., Ghannam, K., & Banerjee, T. (2022). A scale-wise analysis of intermittent momentum
transport in dense canopy flows. Journal of Fluid Mechanics, 942, A51. doi:10.1017/jfm.2022.414 - Zahn, E., Bou-Zeid, E., Good, S., Katul, G., Thomas, C., Ghannam, K., Smith, J., Chamecki, M., Dias, N.L.,
Fuentes, J.D., Kustas, W.P. (2022) “Direct Partitioning of Eddy-Covariance Water and Carbon Dioxide
Fluxes into Ground and Plant Components”. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology. 315, 108790.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agrformet.2021.108790 - Shevliakova, E., Ghannam, K., Findell, K., Milly, P. C. D., et al. (2022) “The Land Component LM4.1 of
the GFDL Earth System Model ESM4.1: Biophysical and Biogeochemical Processes and Interactions with
Climate”. Journal of Advances in Modeling the Earth System. - Ghannam, K., and Bou-Zeid, E., (2022) “Baroclinicity and directional shear explain departures from the
logarithmic wind profile”. Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society.1-22.
https://doi.org/10.1002/qj.3927
Jan 30, 2025
Faculty and Staff Awards 2025
Faculty and staff were recognized at the 27th Annual College of Engineering Faculty and Staff Awards for their exceptional service and dedication in support of students, the COE community, and the university during the 2024-2025 academic year.
Jan 08, 2024
Urban Pollution Solutions Through Dispersion Modeling and Atmospheric Measurements
CEE Assistant Professor Khaled Ghannam is part of the Intelligent Solutions to Urban Pollution for Equity and Resilience (iSUPER), a Northeastern initiative that will integrate sensors and prediction models to detect pollution on a neighborhood-level scale. The resulting data will hopefully inform policy decisions to improve urban air quality.
Aug 18, 2023
New Faculty Spotlight: Khaled Ghannam
Khaled Ghannam joins the Civil and Environmental Engineering department in August 2023 as an Assistant Professor.